Current collector



Jan. 26,1926. 1,570,933

E. T. BENNINGTON CURRENT COLLECTOR Filed Sept. 5, 1924 27 ,2 1O 27 La ue n73 Patented Jan. 26, 1926 UNITED STATES 1,570,933 PATENT OFFICE.

EARL T. BENNINGTON, OF WILIIOUGHBY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CLEVELAND CRANE & ENGINEERING COMPANY, WICKLIFFE, OHIO, CORPORATION OF OHIO.

' CURRENT COLLECTOR.

Application filed September 5, 1924. Serial No. 736,040.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARL T. BnNNINcroN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Willoughby,. in the county of Lake and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Current Collectors, of which the following is a full,

clear, andexact description.

This invention relates to current collectors such as employed for conducting current from a conductor wire or rail to the operating motor of an electrically propelled vehicle, andmore particularly to current collectors for use in various kinds of overhead carrier systems such as monorail, vtelphers and cranes.

It is the object of the invention to provide a current collector which is simple in construction,.which is economical to manufacture and which is efficient in. operation.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a current collector which maintains at all times a firm contact with the conductor from which current is taken so that it is practically sparkless in operation even when used in connection with badly aligned conductor rails.

A further object is to provide a current collector which is so mounted that the trolley wheels are held firmly in engagement with the conductor at all times so that'the collector will not jump out of engagement with the conductor wire or rail. I

With the above and other objects in view the'invention may be said to comprise the device as illustrated in the accompanying drawings hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appended claims, together with such variations and modifications thereof as will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention ap pertains. y Reference should be had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of thisspecification in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a carrier supportedfrom an overhead rail and receiving current for operat- '.ing the mechanism thereon from an overhead conductor rail parallel with the supporting track; Fig.2 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the current collector, a portion being broken away to show the yieldably mounted trolley supporting post in section; Fig. 3 is a topplan view of the trolley wheel support; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line it-'4: of Fig. 2; Fig. 5--is a side elevation of a trolley wheel.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 shows an overhead carrier 1 supported from an overhead track 2 and receiving current for operating the mechanism thereof from a conductor rail 3 which extends parallel with the supporting rail 2. The specific construction of the carrier and of the operating mechanism thereon is immaterial in so far as the present invention is concerned, the present invention relating solely to the current collecting device by means of which current is conveyed from the conductor rail 3 to the mechanism upon the carrier 1. v

The current collector is carried by a rigid arm 1 integral with the frame carrying one of the carrier supporting wheels. Rotatably mounted in the arm 1 is a horizontally ex' tending shaft or arm 4 which carries at its outer end a socket member 5 from which the trolley wheels are supported. The socket member 5 has a laterally extending sleeve portion 6 which is fixed upon the outer end of the arm 4 by means of a transverse pin or rivet 7 whereby the socket member 5 is rig idly secured to the arm 4 to be turned therewith. At right angles to the sleeve portion 6 the socket member 5 has a clamping sleeve 8 which is split along its outer side and provided with outstanding ears 9 which receive a clamping bolt 10. Rigidly clamped within the sleeve 8 is a tubular insulating member 11 which is closed at its lower end, the insulating member 11 being formed of suitable insulating material. Rigidly secured within the insulating tube 11 is a metal tube 12, preferably copper tubing which extends to the lower closed end of the insulating 95 tube 11 and projects somewhat above the upper end thereof; Slidably fitting within the tube 12 is a second metal tube 13 which may also be of copper and which forms the supporting post for the trolley wheels. 9 Within the upper end of the tubular post 13 is a filler 14 of insulating material which is engaged by the upper end of a compression coiled spring 15 which rests at its lower end upon a metal washer 16 upon the bottom of 195 the insulating member 11. The compression spring 15 forms a yielding support for the post 13 and acts at all times to press the trolley against the conductor rail 3.

The tubular supporting post 13 slotted at diametrically opposite points at its upper end and the opposite walls are flattened to provide spaced ears 17 which receive between them the rigid trolley supporting arm 18. The trolley supporting arm is formed of two side bars 19 which have central depressed portions 20 which are secured together in, Contact between the ears 17 of the supporting post by means of a transverse pivot pin 21. The outer ends of the side bars 19 are spaced apart and carry transverse pintles 22 upon which the grooved trolley wheels 23 are rotatably mounted. The pivotal mounting of the trolley wheel carrying arm 18 permit-s relative vertical movement between the front and rear trolley wheels so that in passing over a joint in' the conductor railv 3 or over any irregularity in the rail, the trolley wheels will both be maintained in. engagement with the rail. The coiled spring 15 acting to press the supporting post 13 toward the conductor rail applies substantially equal pressure to both trolley wheels at all times so that irregularities in the conductor rail will not cause the trolley wheels to be thrown from the is connected so that the post supporting spring does not have current pass therethrough. For receiving current from the trolley wheels, the projecting upper end- I of the fixed metal tube 12 has a clamp 24 secured thereon, the clamp 24 being in the form of a metal strip, preferably copper encircling the tube 12 and clamped thereto by means of a bolt 25. The two trolley wheels 23 are connected to the clamp 24 by means of flexible conducting wires or pig tails 26 which have terminals at one end beneath the head and nut of the bolt 25 and the terminals at the opposite ends secured to the ends of the pintles 22 by means of binding screws 27. The current for operating the mechanism on the carrier 1 is taken from the clamp 12 by a suitable conductor such as 28 in Fig. 4.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. A current collector comprising a supporting member mounted to swing laterally and having a socket substantially at right angles to the pivotal axis thereof, apost slldably fitted in said socket, a spring acting upon said post to yieldingly press the same outwardly with respect to the socket, a rigid member pivoted mtermediate its ends to said post and trolley wheels carried by said member on opposite sides of the post.

2. A current collector comprising a supportingmember mounted to swing laterally and having a socket substantially at right angles to the pivotal axis thereof, a post slidable in said socket, a compression spring in said socket adapted to yieldingly resist movement of the post into the socket, a rigid member pivoted intermediate its ends to the outer end of said post, and trolley wheels carried by said member on opposite sides of the pivot and rotatable about axes parallel to said pivot, said trolley wheels being grooved for engagement with a conductor rail Y -3. A current collector comprising front and rear trolley wheels, a rigid member 'upon which the trolley wheels are rigidly supported, a supporting post pivotally connected to the rigid member between the trolley wheels, and a support for the post comprising a part with which the post is slidably connected and yielding means resisting inward movement of the post, said support being mou'nted for-lateral swinging movement about an axis at substantially right angles to the post. I

4. A current collector comprising front and rear trolley wheel-s, a rigid member having transverse pintles adjacent its ends upon which said trolleys are mounted, a post connected at its outer end to said rigid member between said wheels by a pivot parallel to said pintles, a support in which said post is slidably and rotatably mounted,

said support being' mounted for laterali swin ing movement about an axis at substantially right an les to the post and a spring lnterposed %etween said post and support.

5. A current collector comprising a support, a laterally extending arm carried by said support, said arm being rotatable about its longitudinal axis, a laterally extending socket member, carried by said arm, a post slidably mounted in said socket, a spring interposed between said socket member and post, a rigid member pivoted intermediate its ends upon the outer end of said post,-

and front and rear trolley wheels carried by said rigid member on opposite sides of the post. i

;6. A current collector comprising a sup porting member, a post mounted therein for endwise movement and insulated therefrom, a spring interposed between the post and supporting member, a rigid member connected by a transverse pivot to the outer end of the post, trolley wheels carried bysaid rigid member adj acent its opposite ends, and ndependent conducting members connecting said supporting member to said trolley wheels.

r 7. A current collector comprising a supporting member having a tubular socket closed at its inner end, an insulator tube fixed within said socket, a metal tube within said insulator tube, a tubular post telescopically fitting within said metal tube, a spring within said socket resisting inward movement of said post, a rigid member con nected by a transverse pivot to the outer end of said post, transverse pintles carried by said rigid member adjacent the ends thereof, trolley wheels on said pintles, a terminal clamp carried by said metal tube and flexible conductors connected to said clamp and to said pintles.

8. The combination with a track, a carrier mounted to travel thereon and a conductor rail parallel with the track, of a current collector mounted upon the carrier and adapted to travel along the rail, said current collector comprising a support pivoted to the carrier to swing about an axis parallel with the conductor rail, a member carried by said support and movable toward and from the pivotal axis thereof, said member being also movable with respect to said support about a horizontal axis intermediateits ends and at right angles to a plane including the conductor rail and the axis of said support, trolley wheels carried by said member on opposite sides of its pivotal axis, and means for yieldingly pressing said memberina direction outwardly from the axis of the support toward the conductor rail.

9. The combination with a track,,a carrier mounted to travel thereon and a conductor rail parallel with the track, of, a current collector mounted upon the carrier and adapted to travel along the rail, said current collector comprising a support pivoted to the carrier to swing about an axis parallel with the conductor rail, a member carried by said support and movable toward and from the pivotal axis thereof, said member being pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said support to swing about 'two axes disposed at right angles to each other and to the pivotal axis of the support, tr0lley wheels carried by said member upon opposite sides of its pivotal connection to said support, and means for yieldingly pressing said member in a direction outwardly from the axis of the support toward the conductor rail. Y

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

. EARL T. BENNINGTON. 

